Former Rep. Joel Judd, who represented downtown Denver in the legislature from 2003 to 2010, issued a blistering e-mail against former Democratic colleague Chris Romer, endorsing Michael Hancock for Denver mayor.

Judd’s e-mail recalls a 2007 bill he sponsored that would have forced casino winners who owe back child support to have their winnings garnished. The bill passed the House and Judd said he called Romer to seek his support in the senate.

Judd said later that session he attached his proposal to another bill that passed with Romer’s support. The proposal has since collected more than $1 million for children, Judd says.

Now Chris is running for mayor. His number one contributor is a strip joint. Its contribution is so large Chris has no meaningful number two. Is Chris going to put the strip club ahead of Denver kids? I don’t think so, but I resent having to ask the question.

Michael served on City Council with about 15 different council members. Working with Michael on an intimate, daily basis, they elected him as their President. Chris served in the General Assembly with a similar number of Denver legislators who elected Chris nothing. Both of Council’s at large members and several others have endorsed Michael. Very few Denver legislators have endorsed Chris.

Managing a city with Denver’s diversity requires broad talent. Years running a sometimes fractious Colorado Urban League and a similarly diverse Council have given Michael the skills to focus on and complete a project without alienating competing interests. That’s why I support Michael Hancock for Mayor.

In the e-mail, Judd makes reference to $30,000 in campaign contributions that have come from Troy Lowrie, who owns numerous strip clubs across the country. Hancock also has received at least $3,000 from Lowrie.

I don’t think getting a little background information from a former co-worker is “negative campaigning”.

Anonymous

I think the point is that it isn’t Hancock’s responsibility to reign in his supporters. If they feel negative toward Romer, that probably has something to do with the fact that he went negative in the first place. You reap what you sow. Romer sows negativity and he shouldn’t be surprised at the negative response. Maybe if he apologized for lying about Hancock, people might be willing to forgive him.

Gladyskravitz

Here’s the video of Gov. Romer swearing to the NW Denver Democrats that they’d not run negative, that “pro-choice” is not the issue and that they’d not engage in push polls. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5X6m-qyWqE

Hold Romer to his word

Anonymous

Denver voters would be making a big mistake by electing a self-serving mayor like Chris Romer. We need a mayor who places the best interests of citizens ahead of personal concerns.

Seldredge100

Michael Hancock has had to apologize five different times for the actions of his paid campaign staffers. Chris Romer offers much more than rhetoric. We face a $100 million shortfall— Romer is clearly e best man for the job.

Grant Room

James – when a Romer ad is critical of Hancock’s voting record, it’s negative campaigning, but when someone from Hancock’s side (someone from whom he’s accepted a formal endorsement) complains about Romer’s voting record it’s just background information?

In my opinion, there also isn’t a whole lot of difference between casting doubt on your opponent by being critical of their voting record and casting doubt on your opponent for their campaign tactics. Both are negative statements about your opponent designed to make voters dislike them. Hancock has publicly criticized Romer and how he chooses to run his campaign, and in the same breath said that he isn’t running a negative campaign. Saying something negative about your opponent (or their voting record, or their campaign) IS negative campaigning.

I have no problems with either side being critical of the record of their opponent. While it may not be Hancock’s “job” to corral his staffers or those whose public endorsements he’s accepted, it certainly shows a lack of leadership that he’s unable to successfully ask people you would assume are close to him to acquiesce to his desire for a “positive campaign.” And frankly, he should stop harping on Romer if he wants to claim he’s running a positive campaign himself.

Joey Bunch has been a reporter for 28 years, including the last 12 at The Denver Post. For various newspapers he has covered the environment, water issues, politics, civil rights, sports and the casino industry.